Exploring Your North Carolina Health Insurance Options

With so many health insurance companies, each of them offering a multitude of choices, finding one that best suits you can be a very complex process. To ensure that you make the right choice it is important that you familiarize yourself with the latest limitations and waivers imposed by the health care benefits industry.

In North Carolina, many health insurance policy holders obtain their health insurance through their employer’s sponsored program. These employer programs offer employees substantial advantages as they are often flexible, priced at affordable group premium rates, offer reasonably good benefit levels and do not exclude any individual on any grounds including health concerns.

However, for unemployed and self-employed individuals, including those who have COBRA coverage that is soon to expire, finding the right health care insurance is very important.

Here are ways to whittle down your choices and keep premiums low:

Location

Insurance plans vary widely by state, so check around for lower-cost insurance options that may be partially subsidized or sponsored by your state. You may be required to meet certain income requirements before availing of these plans and low prices.

Write down your priorities

Determining which criteria are more important to you, will help you shortlist the most likely insurance companies.

Use a broker

An insurance broker is sure to be more familiar with the various policies and can go through all the paper work and help you find the best option. Make sure you hire a broker who has a “large book”, which in broker lingo means a large network of insurance agencies that they work with. A larger network means more options to choose from. You can check the credentials of the broker with the National Association of Insurance Underwriters or the National Association of Insurance Commissioners.

Ask for a “free look”

Many insurance plans do offer you a trial period, although you won’t find it advertised anywhere. This is called a “free look” and it basically means the insurance company will refund the money you’ve paid if you are unhappy with the plan within a set period of time. Restrictions could vary by plan and by company so it is important that you find out what they are and make sure you follow the guidelines.

Consider a Health Savings Account

A Health Savings Account, HAS, is a good option for individuals who would probably use their insurance jus tone or twice a year. It works with an insurance policy that has high deductible but low premiums. The money that you save on premiums can be deposited into pretax account and then be used for any health-related purpose.